(BALTIMORE – August 2, 2025) – Greetings. 你好. Namaste. Hola. Bonjour. Salaam alaikum. Nomoshkar. Olá. Shalom. Здравствуйте. I write to you today with humility and respect — and with deep concern. Because despite what you may see on your screens, most of the people I know are nothing like President Donald Trump. I imagine the world watches with disbelief as this man — and those who follow him — dismantle civil rights, slash programs like Medicaid, and insult allies without a second thought. It’s disturbing. It’s disgraceful. And it’s dangerous. And yet… here we are. Despite years of warnings, despite his cruelty, racism, and public misogyny, millions still voted for him. Only now, with democracy unraveling and global trust shaken, are some Americans waking up to what’s been obvious all along. That’s what we call cognitive dissonance: when the truth is right in front of you — but it’s too painful to accept. Across the world, cultures may differ. But respect is a universal language. It costs nothing. And it means everything. I felt that deeply when I watched Vice President J.D. Vance publicly berate Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. It was stomach-turning — not just the words, but the complete lack of dignity. To disrespect a man defending his nation against tyranny? That’s not leadership. That’s not America. At least, not the America I was raised to believe in. Where I’m from — Baltimore — you learn respect early. It’s taught at home. It’s reinforced in the streets. Give it, and you’ll likely get it. Disrespect someone, and there are consequences. That’s why I speak out now. Because silence is not an option. Frankly, I believe the group most deceived in all this were white women voters. They knew who Trump was. The “grab ‘em” tape, the lawsuits, the vile rhetoric — it was all out there. Yet many still chose him over Kamala Harris, a poised, prepared, and principled leader. Why? Perhaps the legacy of eight years under a Black president was more than some could handle — and the idea of a Black woman in charge was too much. It’s a question we as a nation need to face. Because America has never truly dealt with its original sin: slavery — and the systemic racism that still follows. And now, we’re led by a man who canceled Martin Luther King Jr. Day, mocked a teenage climate activist on the world stage, and whose own wife often appears unwilling to even stand beside him. Let’s not forget: this is the same man who incited a deadly insurrection on January 6, 2021 — one of the darkest stains on our democracy. So, to the rest of the world, I say this plainly: we are not all Trump. There is still goodness here. Still courage. Still people fighting every day to uphold the ideals this country claims to stand for. As my mother always said, “Nobody is better than you — and you’re no better than anyone else.” That’s the America I…